One Last Time
by xPiki
Summary: It's been four years since the world went dark. Now a large daemon is terrorizing travelers on the road and Gladio isn't too happy about taking Ignis along for the hunt.


Books stacked high on various shelves cast the room in shadow, the light flickering from candles hung on the wall. It was the way Ignis liked it, surrounded by the familiar scent of paper and burning wax. It was like the library back in the crown city, back when he would spend hours cozied up in a side room reading. Now he simply sat among the books, leaning back in his chair and running his fingers over their spines. The wood creaked with his weight, the chair balanced precariously on the floor. He almost fell out of it when he jumped, a voice to his left startling him.

"Ignis." The voice was gruff, demanding and still held that steely edge that he remembered oh so well. How that man tried so hard to hide his pain.

"Gladio?" Ignis turned his head towards the sound, "Is it really you?"

"In the flesh."

There was a bit of a pause between them, neither having spoken to each other since Noctis disappeared. It was strange, being separated from the few he called his friends. Prompto had stopped by once to help him with a hunt but he left shortly after with a convoy of hunters. Ignis remembered feeling exceptionally useless as the world around him devolved into chaos, and he couldn't even see it happen. Maybe that was for the best, but that didn't help calm him.

"If you were someone trying to trick me, I would never know the difference."

It was meant to be more lighthearted, but he could tell, he could feel the shift in the air, Gladio did not take it that way. There was another pause as he heard Gladio shift some things around and drag a chair across the floor to sit.

"Whats this about then? I figured you would stay with Iris. I caught wind that she began hunting."

"She did.." There was hesitation in his voice, but he knew he was powerless to stop it, "I also heard that you've been going out too."

Ignis just nodded and leaned back in the chair again, his arms folding over his chest.

"You heard correctly."

"Iggy-"

"Spare me the lecture, please," He interrupted, "If you simply came to scold me the door is in that direction."

There was frustrated sigh, "..come with us."

Ignis was a bit surprised to hear that, though not entirely. There were few reasons for Gladio to suddenly show up after what, three? Four years? He swallowed thick. So this was what their conversations had chipped away to.

"When shall Prompto arrive then?'

"Soon hopefully. The village isn't far from here, but a rather nasty daemon made its nest there. A bit too close for comfort."

Ignis nodded again and looked towards the ceiling. It took a while, but he made peace with this condition, he made peace with his sacrifice and managed to overcome it. He heard a shift, the creak of old wood and footsteps in the dirt as Gladio no doubt left. Ignis just shook his head, his jaw locked tight as he scowled at the ceiling. He wasn't sure he could take an extended trip with Gladio without snapping at him. He could only hope that this hunt was a quick one.

"Keep scowling like that and your face'll freeze that way." Prompto's voice, always ready to crack a joke in the darkest of times.

"You've arrived already?"

"Uh..I've been here dude, for over an hour. They told me not to disturb you, but we're shipping out. Figured you'd be pissed if we left you behind. Gladio can be stubborn though, you know.."

Ignis nodded, and followed the sounds of footsteps out of the tent structure. He ditched the cane a little while back, knowing full well he couldn't fight with one hand always occupied. He took to using his other senses, listening for things and feeling around. It became easier as he tried. Now it felt less like a child groping in the dark and more like he was floating from place to place. It wasn't perfect, but it was better than what he had before. If anything he was sharper now. More focused, more hyper aware.

Prompto immediately noticed the change, watching his as he made his way to the running truck and climbed in the back with Gladio who looked extremely displeased. He climbed in after Ignis, hitting the hood of the truck to signal that they were ready. Two other hunters accompanied them, but they kept mostly to themselves. It was a known fact not to get in the trio's way because if they were back together it meant trouble for everyone and no one wanted to get caught up in any of that drama.

There was a creak as the vehicle rolled off the dirt and onto the road, leaving the station behind. The neon lights were the only thing that kept the station visible in the distance and as it shrank the company found itself blanketed in the darkness. It had been like that for years now. Too long in Prompto's opinion. The darkness swallowed everything and left the land scarred. Trees lost their leaves to the cold, flowers wilted, wildlife were hunted or driven off the land and were replaced by the daemons that now threatened to kill anything that moved. Prompto just missed being able to see it as they drove. Sometimes he lay in his tent and flip through pictures of when Noctis was still alive, when the world was colorful, when Gladio actually smiled, but it never lasted long. It always ended up with him crying.

"Well, since you've graciously allowed me to accompany you, might I ask what it is we're going after?" Ignis was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, feeling the harsh glare Gladio sent him. Prompto shrank back a bit when that glare was lifted to him.

"A marilith, like the one from forever ago but...bigger? No one's seen it in full.." Prompto answered, rubbing the back of his neck as he avoided Gladio's eyes.

"Doesn't that seem a tad dangerous for only five people?"

"You wanna turn back?" Gladio's tone was almost threatening, but Prompto noticed Ignis just dug his fingernail into his thumb.

"I assure you I can keep up."

Prompto kept his head down, his eyes trained on a knot in the wood of the bed of the truck. He was leaning forward slightly, his back curved and his shoulders slumped. He looked pensive, but his mind was blank in truth. His body swayed with the bumps in the road and he had to dig his heel into the wood to keep from crashing into those next to him from time to time. It wasn't a short ride, that was for sure, but time was only relative now. Prompto could only tell by the ache in his limbs and the thick saliva inside his mouth that they had been moving in silence for a long while. He shuddered when a drop of rain hit his forearm his head slowly lifting to the sky.

The hair on his arms and on the back of his neck immediately stood on end. He shivered, the gooseflesh crawling up his skin. There was a slight breeze still and even though Prompto had smartened up and wore long sleeves it still didn't help this nagging cold. The persistent chill was normal now, his body mostly acclimated to his surroundings, but that still didn't help away from the stations. It was a cold that no matter how warm the blood in his veins he would never be rid of it. The others felt it too. Prompto missed the light, the landscape, but what he missed most of all was the breeze. The breeze on a sweltering hot day. Being able to lift his face to the sky, his blue eyes lit up with the smile that reached ear to ear. That's what he missed most of all.

"We should set up camp, I don't know about you but I think we should be at full strength for this fight." Gladio's voice brought him out of his thoughts, "Not to mention it's about to rain again.."

Prompto glanced to him and nodded. The truck creaked and bounced as it pulled off the cracked pavement and onto a small dirt path. He braced himself as they stopped and placed a hand on Ignis's back. Despite the circumstances it felt good to be together again and despite the fact that Ignis and Gladio only tolerated him at first, it still felt good to be amongst friends. He pushed himself to his feet and stretched his arms high above his head.

"Man, I think I heard more than one thing crack right then.." Prompto jumped off the truck and helped Gladio grab the tents from the back seat. They both grabbed for the same one but before Prompto could react Gladio had yanked it out of his grasp. He noticed his jaw locked and his nostrils flared as he let out a sigh.

"You're going to get him killed." Gladio was trying his very best to keep his voice low. He didn't want Ignis to overhear and get all defensive again.

"You're at this again Gladio?" Prompto had to hold back from shouting it, "Its. His. Decision."

"But it's not anymore, I dealt with it then because he was loyal to Noct, there was no reasoning with him. But things are differen-"

"You're right, things are different. It's been four years Gladio, give it a rest." Prompto snatched the tent from Gladios hands, not angry with him, just tired of hearing it. "I wanted you to ask him for a reason, not because I knew it would make you mad okay? You did your best trying to leave him behind."

Prompto slung the bag over his shoulder and trailed behind their little hunting party. He almost laughed when he saw Ignis running his fingers over a small stove and trying to figure out how to light it.

"Don't think you're gonna get any anything to light out here." He dropped the bag and immediately started pitching the tent. The drops of rain were becoming more consistent and the faster they got set up the better.

"I figured I would attempt, seeing as there's little else for me to help with."

There was a short pause with only the sounds of the clicking stove between them. Prompto busied himself with the tent, working quickly to keep up with the rain. Gladio did the same while the others set up tarps to keep everything dry overnight. Ignis shuffled over to one of the many tree stumps and sat down, not able to get the stove working for more than a moment before it was snuffed out again. There was no point anyways, Gladio wouldn't let him cook. He wouldn't let him do much of anything really. He lifted his head slightly towards Promptos voice.

"Tents ready if you wanna get some rest..and we got dry food, like canned stuff you don't have to cook. Its nasty but..beats starving I guess."

Ignis nodded and stood, reaching his hand out for Prompto who gently took it. Promptos hand was just as rough as his own, calloused and scarred but his grip was gentle, nothing more than the guiding hand of a friend. He felt the corners of his mouth turn upwards as he was guided out of the rain and into the tent. He sat down and shifted to get comfortable as Prompto did the same.

"Here you go." Prompto gently nudged an open can and a fork into Ignis's hand who took it with a soft thank you. There was a rustling as Gladio entered the tent and zipped it up behind him. The rain was now coming down steadily and the sound of it sliding off the roof filled the silence between them. Three good friends and not one of them had anything to say to one another after so long. It didn't matter, they had a job to do and each of them had to focus on the more important tasks at hand. Dwelling on the past did nothing but hold them back in the end.

It was hard falling asleep without even knowing how long you'd been awake for. The constant darkness left Gladio restless from time to time and it was infuriating. Prompto and Ignis had both fallen asleep from what he could tell, their backs pressed up against each other most likely for warmth. He couldn't seem to fall asleep though. His eyes would shut but this incessant nervous feeling had settled in his stomach and wouldn't leave no matter how many times he told himself he needed to sleep. He woke up every couple of minutes, or so it seemed, it could have been hours in truth. After a while he just gave up and sat in the tent, listening to the rain patter against the plastic until it slowed and eventually stopped. He jumped a bit when someone's phone went off and ran a hand through his hair. Gladio glanced over to see Ignis fumble for the device before hitting the big red snooze button on the alarm. Unsurprisingly Prompto was still passed out.

"Don't." Gladio said when he noticed Ignis reaching out to wake him, "Let him sleep, we're not in any hurry."

Ignis just nodded and sat up.

"You were never one to be the first awake."

"Yea, I just wanted to take this chance to one up you again."

Gladio was surprised that Ignis actually snorted at that and watched as he tilted his head to the side. Ignis always managed to look so calm and collected. He could never actually tell what was going on in his head.

"You say 'again' but I don't recall you ever getting a leg up on me."

Gladio glanced down at Prompto who shifted to lay on his back.

" 'mornin guys. Or whatever time it much for letting me sleep huh?"

Gladio made a soft grunting noise that Ignis knew meant he was amused, but the moment was too short lived.

"Rise and shine. It's time to go hunting." Gladio smirked as he made his way to the door and unzipped the air was just as cool as the day before, if not cooler, but it still felt good to breathe in the freshness of the outdoors.

"What happened to not being in a hurry?" Prompto wined.

"I believe that only applied while you were asleep." Ignis replied, Prompto groaned and sat up, "But as long as you're awake we might as well set out."

Prompto groaned even louder this time and flopped back to the ground, "Five more minutes."

"Alright, but no more no less, you better be ready to hike."

Ignis shuffled his way out of the tent only to bump into Gladio who was still standing there.

"Five minutes, really?"

"You did say we were in no hurry."

"I did when I thought he was asleep."

There was that twinge of amusement in his voice again. Ignis wanted to hear that more often. Everyone these days could use a little bit of cheering up.

"Let us pack what we can, and wake the others."

Gladio nodded and started gathering up what they could pack in the truck. After the hunt they would be returning to the campsite so there was no need to take down the larger equipment, nut anything they might need in this fight was immediately packed in small bags. Once Prompto decided to drag his ass out of the tent they were ready to go and Prompto whined about not being told that breakfast was being served. He was forced to eat a can of pineapple instead, as they'd wasted enough time meandering about. They all piled into the truck and drove just a little ways down the dirt road towards the cave where the daemon was said to hold primary residence.

"Ugh, it stinks." Prompto held his nose as the group entered the cave.

The mouth of it was huge, like a gateway and a constant chill hung around the place so long that icicles were found running along the ceiling. They were silent as they walked, any sound that was made echoed off the wall and they wanted to keep their presence as secret as possible. The sound of water dripping was constant and louder in some places than in others. As they trudged deeper the howling wind from outside whistled through the rocks and sounded like screaming. It turned Prompto's blood to ice and he constantly glanced behind himself despite being in the middle of the group.

Gladio looked to the ground, trying to keep his footing on the icy rocks. Every now and then he would look to Ignis to see how he was, but he never seemed to struggle. That should have been relieving, but he knew this was no place for him to be right now. Either way it wouldn't change a thing. Gladio startled himself as he was looking back and all of a sudden he heard a splash. He whipped around and stopped, seeing nothing but water from then on at least as far as he could see with the light on his chest.

"Wait." He mumbled before scanning the area, trying to look for another way to continue.

"Wouldn't we have seen the Marilith by now?" One of the hunters asked, their voice hushed.

Gladio just nodded, but he had no answer as to why they hadn't seen it yet. This was highly unusual. A Marilith was a fire daemon. They would never surround themselves with cold and water, especially not if they had the choice. Gladio too a step back and kneeled down to touch his fingers to the water. Just as he had suspected, the water was warm. It was like a hot spring at the snowy peak of a mountain.

"It was smart," He mumbled.

"What was that?" Prompto asked.

"The water," Ignis answered for him, "It's warm isn't it. I suspected as much. She made herself a habitable space away from the cold of the surface. The farther in we go the warmer I suspect it's going to get."

"That means we have to go deeper?"

"Quiet," Gladio snapped, "No, we don't know how deep this goes, we should find a way around the water."

"I don't believe there will be a way around. This cavern is mostly made of ice yes?" Ignis crossed his arms over his chest, "She would have melted anything around her to keep herself safe."

"It's a fire daemon." Gladio took a step towards Ignis, his tone trying to sound demanding but Ignis never backed down, "It wouldn't want to travel in deep water."

"Then perhaps the water is not that deep."

"Uh guys.." Prompto was looking up towards the ceiling when he smack Gladio on the back. The rest of the party followed suit.

"What is it Prompto?" Ignis asked

None of them answered as they stared in horror. Sure enough they wouldn't have to go far to find the Marilith. She had come to them and as they all looked up her face illuminated and her mouth curved into a twisted bloody grin. It only took a second of staring for her to prep and before Ignis knew it he was tackled to the floor by Gladio. A blast of fire shook the cavern as the daemon let out a piercing screech.

"You should stay here and-"

"Don't even say it, this is certainly not the place."

Ignis helped himself up and had his daggers materialize in his hands. He felt their comfortable weight. He was used to this now and had quickly learned to rely on his other senses in combat. He could hear the Mariliths movements along with the ring as metal hit metal in futile attacks. He calculated her size and had the weak points memorize from before. It seemed Gladio and Prompto had the same ideas. They went for her arms, confusing her and distracting her, but it wasn't enough, she was much too smart for the two of them.

Ignis helped with the other hunters who accompanied them who tried to pin her down by her tail. She simply shoved them out of the way and slammed them up against the wall. Ignis grunted at the force of it and fell to the ground, but Prompto came to his aid and helped him up again. He ran in the direction of the beast, a plan formulating in his head to get this over as quickly as possible.

Gladio went for her head but she blocked every blow and knocked him away like a fly. He stood back up again however and just went back at it, slashing his sword until it came in contact with flesh. He blocked a blow that was about to come down right on top of Prompto and Ignis and without a second's hesitation they attacked. It was like the old days watching them fight, even if it was only for a moment. Prompto fanned the hammer on his gun straight into the pit of her arm and as soon as he was out of bullets Ignis used his back as a platform and jumped up to cut the arm off with a spear.

The cut didn't quite make it all the way through, but once he landed and heard the shriek of the beast Ignis knew he had at least cut most of the way through.

"Gladio!" He shouted

"Way ahead of you."

Gladio leapt forward and sliced it the rest of the way. He glanced over to see mostly the same thing happening on the other side until the Marilith got angry. She summoned fire to be rained down on the team. Gladio took cover behind a rock, Prompto following close behind.

"Like before?" Prompto asked with a wide grin.

"Yea. Just like before."

They waited as she shrieked once more before coming out from hiding. Gladio blocked her blows, but each one pushed him back a bit. Prompto motioned for the hunters to go up from behind before having to roll out of the way of a large sword coming at him.

"Ignis!" He shouted, "Let's do this."

Prompto ran over to Ignis and grabbed him by the arm

"You think you can do that again?"

"Without a second thought."

Prompto nodded and pulled him into position before he ran forward, sliding away from an attack and shooting up at the Marilith. With two less arms she couldn't concentrate on everything at once.

"Gladio!" Prompto motioned he was good before Gladio went into motion.

Gladio placed a hand on Ignis's shoulder before running forward as well. He used Prompto as leverage to jump up. He blocked the attacks and grabbed onto one of her arms. In a moment he reached out to grab Ignis and they crawled up onto the daemons arm. She didn't hesitate to attack and a sword came down right in between them. Gladio managed to shove Ignis out of the way before the sword sliced through the monster's own flesh. Gladio went down with the severed arm but Ignis managed to hold onto the bleeding stump.

"Ignis!" Prompto called to him, "Just stay there!"

The daemon was furious, but she wouldn't attack herself again. Ignis scrambled to up the arm but there was still one more arm above him. He thought for a quick moment before his daggers materialized and he shoved it into her flesh. One after another he used the daggers to climb his way up. The Marilith tried to shake him but he held tightly. If the severed arm hadn't already sprayed him with daemon blood, he was certainly covered in it now. It flowed from every new wound he inflicted as he climbed up to her shoulder. It coated his hands and ran down his sleeves. The smell of it alone was revolting.

Once he made it to the top he noticed she was distracted. The hunters behind her had started attacking from behind and Gladio had picked himself back up to keep attacking from the front. She only had three arms now and had to lower one of her defences. That's where Ignis sensed his opening. The spear materialized in his hand. He tested its weight and prepped the shot. He calculated the trajectory needed, the force required, and his physical ability to take aim, the rest was all prayers.

Gladio immediately saw what he was doing but he couldn't yell at him to stop from here. He just watched as Ignis reared back and threw the spear at the daemon. It didn't land quite where planned but it managed to lodge itself just above the Mariliths temple. She screeched and dropped one of her swords. Gladio watched as she swatted Ignis off her shoulder, watching him fall and hit the ground. He looked to Prompto who saw the opening and went for it. Gladio figured her better capitalize on that as well and in a moment they had chopped off the arm that had dropped its weapon.

The hunters behind her took the distraction a lobbed off the arm right below it and in an instant her defences were down. Prompto took aim and with multiple shots to the head she came screaming down to the dirt with a thud that shook the cavern.

"Ignis!" Gladio ran over to where he fell, sighing in relief when he saw he was still conscious. Prompto ran over and immediately tried helping Ignis stand, but whenever he tried to touch his right arm he yelped in pain.

"It's broken.." Ignis hissed as Prompto used the other arm instead to help him up, "Coincidentally broke my fall as well."

"That was insanely stupid you know. You should have just waited." Gladio growled as they made their way back to the entrance.

"And yet I'm still very much alive. Next time shall I listen to you and let the daemon live then?"

"Don't patronize me Ignis, I knew I shouldn't have let you come, you can be so stubborn you know. If you hadn't been so reckless..if it hadnt been so selfish-"

"Enough, Gladio, give it a rest will you. I'm alive, does that mean nothing to you!" There was silence as Gladio glared at Ignis, "Noct has been dead for four years need I remind you and you're still angry with him!? Not to mention you had a job to do which may I add, you didn't-"

"Uh, Iggy?" Prompto piped up, interrupting his short rant.

"Hm?" Ignis paused

"He went on ahead…"

Ignis nodded and sighed. If Gladio didn't want to hear it so be it, it was only the truth. He needed to stop blaming everyone for everything and move on. Maybe one day he could talk some sense into the man, but for now they would simply be at odds with one another. He didn't like it, but Ignis was always patient. He wasn't surprised when Gladio didn't come back to the tent to sleep and was silent on their ride back to the station. Ignis gently held his wounded arm, now set and bandaged properly, and Prompto made light conversation whenever it seemed like one of the two was going to snap.

They made it back to the station in once piece and Ignis climbed off the truck. He was fully prepared to just walk away from it all until he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned.

"I wouldn't blame Noct." Ignis was surprised to hear from Gladio. He assumed he would just go off by himself. He hesitated a bit in his response.

"..I understand."

Gladio nodded, satisfied enough with that before turning to head back to the truck. He had to return to his sister after all. Ignis was left standing there in the middle of the parking lot.

"So then I guess I'll be seeing you around huh?" Prompto said, the smile was obvious in his voice. Ignis didn't respond, he just stood there as he blinked and felt something wet hit his cheek and roll down.

"..Ignis?.."

"..Hm." He lifted his head up, as if looking to the sky, "It seems to have started to rain again, hasn't it.."

"...Yea..Yea, we should head inside then." Prompto nodded and gently took Ignis's arm to walk him back inside. He didn't have the heart to say anything, and maybe that was for the best.


End file.
